White Flag
by SarkLover
Summary: A Christmas story... Sarkney... somewhat AU


Title: White Flag  
  
Author: SarkLover  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Alias. (Except for my DVDs and a few of the prequel novels!)  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairings: Syd/Sark  
  
Summary: Sydney and her daughter try to get away for the Christmas vacation and she ends up running into someone she'd thought she'd never see again. Somewhat AU.  
  
Note: All lyrics are from Dido's 'White Flag'  
  
Challenge: Sd-1 December challenge. The 6 elements are: 1. Jack in a Santa suit singing a Christmas carol 2. A scene in an airport 3. A snow globe that has a symbolic meaning 4. A poinsettia plant 5. A snowball fight. 6. Use of the word 'gingerbread'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I know you think that I shouldn't still love you  
  
I'll tell you that  
  
But if I didn't say it  
  
Well, I'd still have felt it  
  
Where's the sense in that?  
  
I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder  
  
Or return to where we were  
  
Well I will go down with this ship  
  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
  
There will be no white flag above my door  
  
I'm in love and always will be  
  
Part 1  
  
Alanna Bristow tugged gently on her mother's hand. "Mommy!"  
  
Sydney sighed, exasperated. It had been a long flight from L.A. and her daughter's impatience had made it seem almost 10 hours longer than it actually was.  
  
"Yes, sweetie?"  
  
"Does Santa still come to Canada?"  
  
"Of course, Aly. He goes all over the world, just to bring you presents."  
  
Alanna smiled and something tugged at Sydney's heart. Her daughter's blue eyes stared into hers and Sydney smiled. 5 year olds were so innocent.  
  
Alanna's curious eyes roamed around the airport terminal, searching for something else to ask about. Then her eyes lit up and she tugged on Sydney's hand again.  
  
"Mommy, mommy! Can I go and see Santa? Please?"  
  
Sydney squinted her eyes shut and then opened them again, searching the terminal to find where Alanna had seen Santa. Then she spotted the Christmas set-up near the exit. Wow, Sydney thought, even the airports are getting into the spirit. She looked at Alanna and then grinned.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Alanna ran over to the 'Christmas Village' dragging her mother behind her. Sydney fought to keep hold of their bags and laughed.  
  
There was no line and Alanna ran straight through the fake snow and jumped onto Santa's lap. He laughed, catching Sydney's eye. She stopped in her tracks, something seemed familiar about the man, but behind the big, bushy beard, hat, and gold-rimmed spectacles, she couldn't place a name with the face.  
  
Sydney leaned against the oversized fake gingerbread house and smiled, watching her daughter look at Santa with amazement in her eyes.  
  
"Hi Santa! I'm Alanna Juliana Bristow!"  
  
Santa laughed, a deep 'Ho, ho, ho'. "Well, hello, Alanna Juliana Bristow. Why don't you tell Santa what a good little girl like you wants for Christmas this year?"  
  
Alanna put her chin in her hands, thinking seriously. Sydney watched, curious. Her daughter never revealed what she wanted for Christmas, leaving Sydney to wing it and hope that she liked whatever she got. She was curious to see what her daughter would tell Santa.  
  
Alanna raised her chin and looked Santa in the eye, with all the seriousness one could expect from a 5 year old. "I want my daddy."  
  
Sydney blinked, tears coming to her eyes. 'Santa' glanced up at her, his eyes serious and Sydney grabbed Alanna's hand and dragged her off Santa's lap and down the steps before this stranger could see her tears.  
  
"Wait, mommy!! I want you and Santa to sing a Christmas carol!"  
  
Sydney looked at Alanna, trying to wipe away her tears. She knew that if she didn't sing with 'Santa' then her daughter would throw a fit and here in the airport, that wasn't necessarily a good idea. She turned and walked back up the steps, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as she did so. Alanna followed behind her, jumping with joy.  
  
"How about 'Carol of the Bells'?" 'Santa' whispered to her.  
  
Sydney stared at him shocked. Her father and Julian had always sung that with her, every Christmas morning they had spent together. She nodded and Alanna climbed into Santa's lap again. He and Sydney started singing off quietly, almost whispering.  
  
Hark how the bells,  
  
sweet silver bells,  
  
all seem to say,  
  
throw cares away  
  
Christmas is here,  
  
bringing good cheer,  
  
to young and old,  
  
meek and the bold,  
  
The pair got louder as they sang and by the time they began the last verse, a large crowd had gather. Sydney didn't even pay attention to that, she was  
busy looking at her daughter.  
  
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,  
  
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,  
  
On on they send ,  
  
on without end,  
  
their joyful tone to every home  
  
Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong  
  
The crowd applauded when they were through and Sydney blushed, embarrassed. She still had tears in her eyes, but she didn't care; no-one except Alanna knew her here in Vancouver. A flash of blonde hair caught her eye as a man disappeared into the crowd around the exit. Sydney rubbed her forehead and sighed. Five years later and I still see him everywhere. She picked her daughter up, who had fallen asleep, nodded to 'Santa' and wove her way through the crowd.  
  
5 minutes later 'Santa' took a break. In the bathroom he brought his watch to his mouth and whispered five words. "She's here and she's safe."  
  
And then Jack Bristow walked back into the terminal, taking his seat and waiting to hear what the next child wanted for Christmas.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I know I left too much mess  
  
And destruction to come back again  
  
And I caused but nothing but trouble  
  
I understand if you can't talk to me again  
  
And if you live by the rules of "It's over"  
  
Then I'm sure that that makes sense  
  
Well I will go down with this ship  
  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
  
There will be no white flag above my door  
  
I'm in love and always will be  
  
Part Two  
  
Sydney set their bags down and looked around the hotel room. Her dad had paid for it as a gift and she was happy for that. Being a single mother with a teacher's salary was hard. I guess being a CIA agent gets great pay, she laughed. The room was beautiful, and so was the hotel. She walked into the huge marble bathroom, noticing the poinsettia on the counter. Looks like everyone's getting into the spirit.  
  
"Mommy? Where are you?"  
  
"In here, sweetie!"  
  
Alanna came running into the bathroom, her stocking feet sliding on the tile. She almost fell but Sydney reached out and caught her, knocking over the poinsettia in the process. Alanna recovered quickly and caught the small pot in her tiny hands, almost dropping it. Sydney took it from her and set it back on the counter.  
  
"Thanks mommy! This place is huge!"  
  
Sydney laughed and gave her daughter a hug. "I know, sweetie. You need to thank your grandfather that when we go back home, OK?"  
  
"OK, Mommy!! Are we going to get a Christmas tree?"  
  
Sydney smiled sadly. "How about we just tell Santa to put the presents by the fireplace, huh? And then we don't have to worry about looking for a tree."  
  
Alanna pouted and then smiled. "Sure, mommy! Will you come help me unpack?"  
  
"Of course!" Sydney picked up her daughter and slung her over her shoulder, laughing. Alanna giggled and squealed.  
  
"Put me down, mommy!!"  
  
"If you insist!" Sydney set her down on the bed and tickled her. Alanna laughed. After a few minutes, Sydney stopped and lifted both of their suitcases onto the bed, unzipping hers. Alanna started to go through her own clothes, singing Christmas carols as she went. When she suddenly stopped, Sydney looked up from where she was folding a shirt to put in the dresser.  
  
"Something wrong, Alanna?"  
  
"Yes, mommy. This isn't mine."  
  
Sydney looked at what Alanna was holding in her hands and froze. It was her snow globe. Sydney gently reached for it and Alanna let her have it.  
  
"Why don't you go change into your nice dress and we'll go downstairs for dinner?"  
  
"OK, mommy!" Alanna jumped off of the bed, gripping her dress, and ran into one of the other rooms.  
  
Sydney sat down heavily on the bed, still gripping the snow globe in her hands.  
  
***FLASHBACK***  
  
"Sydney, I want you to have this." Julian held out the snow globe towards her.  
  
"Julian, I can't do that. It was your mom's, you should keep it."  
  
"No." He put it in her hands and closed her fingers over it. "My mother told me to give this to whoever I loved. I love you, Sydney."  
  
Her eyes filled with tears. "Julian..."  
  
But he silenced her with a kiss and when he pulled away, Sydney shook the globe and they watched the snow fall around the miniature town. Together.  
  
***END FLASHBACK***  
  
Sydney found her eyes tearing up for the second time that day. That had been their last peaceful moment together before the CIA had finally intervened and broken up the forbidden relationship between assassin and agent. And Sydney had quit the CIA the day after that, seeing no reason in her life. A week later she had received an official notice from her father that Julian Alexander Sark had been executed. And that was the day she broke down completely. There had been no point in living after that, but then Sydney had found that she was pregnant. And her life had meaning once again.  
  
Getting up and wiping her eyes with a Kleenex, Sydney placed the snow globe on the mantelpiece of the fireplace. She watched the snow fall around the miniature town. But this time there was no one with her. She was alone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
And when we meet  
  
As I'm sure we will  
  
All that was then  
  
Will be there still  
  
I'll let it pass  
  
And hold my tongue  
  
And you will think  
  
That I've moved on  
  
Well I will go down with this ship  
  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
  
There will be no white flag above my door  
  
I'm in love and always will be  
  
Part Three  
  
A few days later Sydney and Alanna were having a snowball fight with their new friends, Erica and her daughter Katie. They had been outside for over an hour and Sydney desperately needed a shower.  
  
Erica noticed that Sydney didn't want to be there, and spoke up. "Hey, Syd, you can take a break for a while," she said, gently lobbing a snowball towards her daughter. "I'll watch the girls."  
  
Sydney smiled gratefully. She had only met Erica three days before but they became fast friends. She gave her a hug and stood up, brushing the snow off of her jeans. Waving good-bye to Alanna and Katie, Sydney trudged back inside and towards the elevator, looking forward to a nice, long, hot bath.  
  
As Sydney walked in the doors, a man came out from where he had been hiding behind a nearby tree. He approached Erica and the girls and raised his hand in greeting.  
  
"Hello," he said, with a smooth British accent. "I couldn't help but see that a member of your group just left. Would you mind if I joined your fight?"  
  
Erica nodded. "Sure." She stuck out her hand in greeting. "I'm Erica, and this is my daughter Katie, and Alanna."  
  
The man shook her hand. "I'm Julian."  
  
An hour later, Sydney was still in her room, and Julian and Alanna were discussing plans to attack their 'enemies'.  
  
"How about this: I sit here, making snowballs and pretending to talk to you, and you sneak around and attack them while they're not ready?"  
  
Alanna nodded and Julian smiled. She's smart, for a five-year-old. He kneeled in the snow and packed snow together, saying things to Alanna and nodding his head in return. To anyone who had walked by, he would have looked like a crazy person.  
  
Meanwhile, Alanna crept around the side of the yard where they were playing. She crouched low behind the barrier that Erica had built for their side. She jumped over it and yelled with excitement, and at the same time, Julian stood and starting tossing snowballs in their direction, careful not to hit anyone too hard.  
  
After only a few seconds, Erica pulled out a white handkerchief and waved it in the air, laughing.  
  
"OK, OK! We surrender! We give up!"  
  
Alanna plopped down into the snow next to Katie and giggled.  
  
"That was fun!"  
  
Julian laughed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun. He felt a tugging on his jacket and looked down to see Alanna.  
  
"Julian! Will you come with me? I want to show you my mommy's snow globe!"  
  
Julian looked at Erica who laughed. "Sure, go ahead. She loves you though, so watch out before she tries to get you to be her dad. Even though her mother's beautiful."  
  
He laughed again and winked. "I'll watch out for her."  
  
Alanna grabbed his hand and dragged him inside and into the elevator, hitting the button for the 6th floor. She is really smart, Julian grinned again.  
  
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Alanna let go of his hand and ran down the hall, stopping at the door to Room 647. Julian caught up with her and stopped as Alanna knocked on the door.  
  
Sydney heard voices outside the door as she got out of the bathtub. Alanna forgot her key, again. She laughed to herself but stopped as a British voice came to her ears through the walls. Pulling a robe around herself, she hurried to the door, stopping to listen.  
  
Outside, Julian was talking with Alanna, waiting for the door to open.  
  
"So, Alanna. You have such a pretty name. Where did your mother get it from?"  
  
"She said my daddy always liked that name."  
  
"And who's your daddy?"  
  
Alanna looked at the floor. "I don't know."  
  
"Aw, well it's a beautiful name. I've always liked the name Alanna."  
  
Sydney opened the door, coming face to face with a pair of deep blue eyes she thought she'd never see again.  
  
"I know you have."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Well I will go down with this ship  
  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
  
There will be no white flag above my door  
  
I'm in love and always will be  
  
I will go down with this ship  
  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
  
There will be no white flag above my door  
  
I'm in love and always will be  
  
Part Four  
  
***FLASHBACK***  
  
Sydney shook the snow globe and they watched the snow fall around the miniature town. Together.  
  
She smiled and kissed Julian's nose. "I love you, too."  
  
He grinned back at her as she got up.  
  
"I'm going to make dinner. Any preferences?"  
  
"Anything you make will be good, Sydney." He looked at her with love in his eyes.  
  
She smiled and walked into the kitchen, still holding the snow globe. Sydney called back to him. "Well, I guess I'll just have to surprise you then!"  
  
He laughed, but the sound was cut off by the noise of the busting door. Sydney quickly grabbed the gun from the cabinet above the refrigerator and cocked it, edging around the corner of the door so she could see. What met her eyes was not expected. Men dressed in black had Julian kneeling on the ground, a gun to his head and his hands cuffed behind his back.  
  
"Who's here with you?"  
  
"Nobody, I swear."  
  
The man who was talking to Julian hit him in the head with his pistol and Julian slumped to the floor. The man turned around and Sydney gasped as she recognized him.  
  
Vaughn.  
  
Sydney ran to the window, quickly opening it. Grabbing the snow globe, she lifted herself up and out before the CIA team could search the apartment. No one knew about her and Julian, and she preferred to keep it that way.  
  
***END FLASHBACK***  
  
Sydney opened the door, coming face to face with a pair of deep blue eyes she thought she'd never see again.  
  
"I know you have."  
  
Julian looked up, suddenly blushing. "Hello, Sydney."  
  
She slapped him across the face. "You were dead, Julian, and all you can say is 'Hello'? I loved you!"  
  
Julian rubbed his sore jaw. "Sorry, Sydney," he said, looking at the floor.  
  
"What are you doing with my daughter?"  
  
"We were simply having a snowball fight, Syd. She wanted to show me her snow globe and Erica had me bring her up."  
  
"Why would she do that..." Sydney trailed off, remembering.  
  
***FLASHBACK***  
  
"Syd?" Erica called, "Alanna needs some money for lunch!"  
  
"Yeah, hold on, I'm coming!"  
  
Sydney walked out from the bathroom and crossed the room to her purse, taking out her wallet. As she opened it, a picture fell out. Erica picked it up.  
  
"Who's this with you, Sydney?"  
  
Syd glanced over before snatching the photograph from her friend's hands.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing."  
  
She gave Erica a bill and waved goodbye to Alanna and Katie. When the door closed she turned the photo over, reading the words on the back. Julian and Sydney, Paris.  
  
***FLASHBACK***  
  
"She recognized you from the picture in my wallet," Sydney mumbled to herself.  
  
"As flattered as I am that you keep a picture of me, love, I think we need to talk."  
  
"Talk! Yeah, that's an understatement. You were gone for 5 years, Julian! Do you expect me to be running back into your arms?" Sydney started to cry and fell to the floor, sobbing.  
  
Julian looked at her and then at Alanna. "Hey, Alanna, why don't you go take a bath?"  
  
"Can I have bubbles?"  
  
He smiled. "Of course. Run along, now."  
  
When she was gone Julian knelt down next to Sydney. "Don't cry, love."  
  
She looked up at him. "Why, Julian? Why did you do this to me?"  
  
He sighed. "Sydney, your father helped me." She gasped quietly. "We both knew that I wasn't going to survive if I stayed with the CIA. He helped me to fake my death and get me out. I've been hiding for the past 5 years."  
  
"But... Julian, we loved each other!"  
  
"Sydney, darling, I know. But I couldn't come out of hiding until now. Your father has worked for the past 4 years to get me pardoned."  
  
"What!? Did he know about us?"  
  
Julian just nodded.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Sydney, I'll never be able to figure out that man," he chuckled, "But I know that he saved my life and I owe him for that. I'm a free man, love."  
  
He reached to wipe away her tears and left his hand on her cheek.  
  
She smiled. "I still love you, Julian."  
  
"I'm glad. I still love you, too." He kissed her sweetly and Alanna came walking in, a towel around her shoulders like a cape.  
  
"Julian, why are you kissing Mommy?"  
  
He laughed. And Sydney did also. She took Alanna's hand and squeezed it, pulling her closer.  
  
"Because this is your daddy, Alanna."  
  
"Really?" Her face lit up with a smile. "Good! I like Julian."  
  
Sydney laughed again. "I think we all do."  
  
It was then that she noticed that Alanna was holding her snow globe. She gently lifted it from her daughter's hand and shook it. The snow fell around the miniature town and Julian, Sydney, and Alanna watched it. Together. As a family.  
  
FIN  
  
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A/N: Feedback is always appreciated!! I went ahead and posted the whole thing together because I didn't have the time to split the parts up into separate documents... hope you enjoyed it and please please please review!!! 


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